The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is determined to protect crypto investors from being deceived by misleading advertisements. On April 29, the Thai SEC cautioned all active crypto exchanges against promoting crypto investments in an exaggerated or misleading manner, urging them to adhere to the prescribed advertising standards. Anek Yooyuen, the Deputy Secretary-General of the commission, expressed concerns about crypto exchanges offering special privileges to attract users. According to the Bangkok Post, crypto ads that contain false, exaggerated, distorted, concealed, or misleading information are in violation of Thailand’s regulations.
Regulators in other major crypto markets have also taken similar measures to minimize losses resulting from crypto investments. For instance, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued 450 warnings about illegal crypto ads in 2023 alone. In November 2023, Spain’s primary securities market regulator, the National Stock Market Commission, called out fraudulent promotions of crypto assets on X and emphasized companies’ obligation to comply with local laws.
The SEC reminded crypto exchanges to include appropriate warnings about investment risks in their advertisements and to refrain from attracting new users through special promotions. Yooyuen stated that the SEC’s advertising guidelines aim to protect investors from unnecessary risks and warned that violating these guidelines would lead to legal consequences. The advertising guidelines in Thailand require businesses and advertisers to substantiate the “facts” presented in their marketing campaigns or risk violating the country’s laws.
In related news, the United Kingdom’s financial watchdog has restricted a Binance partner from issuing crypto advertisements. Furthermore, hackers recently hijacked advertisements on Etherscan, redirecting users to phishing sites that aimed to drain their crypto wallets. Scam Sniffer, a blockchain investigation firm, suspects that the lack of oversight from advertisement aggregators was the main cause of this large-scale phishing campaign. The scam involved tricking users into visiting fake websites and linking their crypto wallets, allowing scammers to withdraw funds without any user authentication or permission.
Source: McBiblets
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